The Crystal Cave

 by Mary Stewart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This story if the first of four books dealing with the legends of Merlin, King Arthur and Camelot.

Brittany

Ambrosius and Uther are the sons of a British king who has been defeated and they have fled across the channel to an area called Less Britain (Brittany?) to regroup and gain strength. Years ago Ambrosius  had a secret liaison with the daughter of the King of Wales, Niniane. But he left her when he fled, not knowing she was pregnant. The son that was born to Niniane was named Myriddn Emrys , but he was known as Merlin.

 Despite his mother's rank he was nonetheless a bastard and looked down upon. He mother refused to name her lover despite torture and Merlin was not looked on with his Grandfather's favor even though royal bastards are plentiful in those times and there was another that he grew up with whom his grandfather did favor.

Merlin grew up keeping secrets, hiding in the shadows and eventually met his destiny in the form of an old man who taught him medicine, botany and many other things. The old man lived in a cave that had a secret compartment filled with crystals. It was here that Merlin had his first visions and he knew that God had plans for him.  These were the times when paganism and Christianity existed side by side,and while Merlin believed there were many gods in and around the earth he knew that there was one God supreme and it was this God that was to use him an an instrument.

Thus begins the story of Merlin the magician. Mary Stewart grabs hold of the reader and takes them back to the days when Britain was overrun by Saxons, many small kingdoms with their leaders always warring to gain more territory. The tale is exciting and engrossing. I have already started The Hollow Hills which is the following book.

Watership Down

 by Richard Adams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Somehow I thought this book was sci fi. It turned out to be the trials and tribulations of rabbits . It was mildly enjoyable.

A group of rabbits decide to leave their commune because it was becoming dangerous. One little bunny had a premonition that death was coming and he and his brother lead a splinter group on a difficult sojourn looking foe a new home.

When they at last found a place far enough from highways and men who held burning sticks in their mouth and drove dangerous machines they began to settle down. They realized next that what their community lacked was females.

Out they went again looking for some sabine rabbits and found a cult in which all the members lived dreadfully circumscribed lives. They encourages some feisty does to join them in an escape.

They  reached home safely but were afraid their days were numbered as the cult, which was quite militaristic would seek revenge. They mustered their defenses and against all odds good triumphed over evil and the peaceful rabbit community could now relax and proliferate.

The September Society

 by Charles Finch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This mystery begins in India with some murders that are cold, calculated and cruel in that there appears to be no motive for them. The story slips to to Oxford, England about two decades later in 1866 when an anxious, perhaps overly doting mother comes to thirty-something amateur detective Charles Lenox because her son, George Payson who was studying at Lincoln College, part of Oxford University, has mysteriously disappeared.

Lenox takes the case and realizes that he welcomes a nostalgic trip to revisit his own college days at that same University.

Lincoln College

He arrives at the young man's empty room and immediately sees a pattern that suggests a message has been left. There is an murdered animal, a sip of paper with a code, various red artifacts scattered on the floor in a seemingly random pattern  and a mysterious calling card of an unknown entity 'The September Society".


The hunt has just begun when a body identified as Payson's and the police become involved and for reasons unclear to me immediately welcome Lenox as part of the team. Really! The next problem is that Payson's best friend has disappeared as well also leaving the calling card of the September Society.

One of the most interesting part of the book is the inclusion of the University of Oxford's history. Oxford is made up of about twenty constituent colleges each a small mini university with it's own library, chapel, dining hall, professors and buildings. These different colleges were founded at different times. Lincoln College was founded by the Bishop of Lincoln in 1427.

John Wesley

A notable graduate was John Wesley, the religious reformer. A joke had been made about Wesley when he was there in  the 1720's and he was called a Methodist because of his dull methodical ways.


 Oxford itself was the brainchild of a cleric who had a few students that met in some small room looking for intellectual stimulation. This was in 1090 AD and before another century died away Oxford was recognised as the greatest institution of higher education in the world. By the 1400's Oxford began to have the look and feel of a great university.


The story moves along at a moderate pace and aside from Lenox's obsession with his unrequited love for Lady Jane who he has known since childhood, the plotting is intricate and the tale is entertaining. I enjoyed it.

 by Lucy Cores
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Toni Ney, once a ballet dancer herself is now earning her daily bread as an exercise expert and reviewing ballet part time for a local newspaper. The same day in the early forties that her soldier boyfriend Eric Skeets comes home on furlough Tony is off to the Civic Opera to review a ballet that is intended to take New York by storm. The premier danseur is Russian Vova Izlomin who is a poor example of a human being but makes up for this by the artistry of his dancing. Just lately returning to the dancing scene, he has been in seclusion after a severe schizophrenic break down. The ballet is intended to show him at his very best, reconditioned in top form.

The beginning of the ballet goes off beautifully and the audience is appropriately awed, but suddenly the main attraction had disappeared. he is found later hanging from some ropes high up back stage. You can describe the rats warren of a multistory back stage to me a million times and I will never quite get a picture of what they are talking about. I always envision a ship's deck with spars, ropes, hooks and pulleys all over the place.

Thus the story unfolds. Did the dancer crack yet again, or did a jealous rival or doting wife do him in? Inspector Anthony Torrent of the NYPD needs Toni's help to understand the nuances of the behind the scenes life at a ballet theater. Toni enjoys helping him out because she has a good eye for detail and she loves the excitement of the hunt. She also has a roving eye that has lit on a handsome wealthy tomcat of a man who is on his third marriage and who is also looking for a new fancy. This is one part of the story that disappoints because it shows that Toni's judgement is lacking.

The story has an intricate finale much like any ballet and well worth the read. I am sorry the series is so short. There is a beautiful Rue Morgue edition that Goodreads doesn't show so don't judge by the no picture icon.

A Cold Touch of Ice

 by Michael Pearce
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Egypt, during the year 1912, rising nationalistic fervor is making the work of Gareth Owen more complicated. Owen is the the Mamur Zapt, the British Chief of the secret police in Cairo. Years ago the British stepped in to Egyptian affairs after a call for help from the Khedive who was the Egyptian ruler and who was concerned about the financial stability of the area.  The British have settled in very nicely now, thank you very much and even though things are better they seem to have put down roots!

The current problems that heating up an already very warm climate are stemming from a war that has broken out between the Ottoman Empire and Italy over the territories now known as Libya.  The Ottoman empire was the major controlling force in Egypt and the Cairenes favored their position and while there were many Italians living in Cairo  anti Italian feelings were growing. When an Italian man who had lived and worked in Egypt for decades was murdered Gareth Owen and his friend Mahmoud of the Egyptian law enforcement wanted to solve this murder quickly before the situation becomes more inflamed.  Morelli had run an auction house in Cairo for a few generations and considered himself a Cairene. His friends were all Egyptian and he spent most evening with them in a cafe playing a board game. One day after work he was strangled on his way to the game. Was the murder because of his nationality or because of something overheard in a back alley about guns?

A backdrop of the story reveals in a subtle way integration into a society can be reversed in mere days as rumours spread and nationalistic feeling surface so that long standing friendships are stressed and no one can be taken at face value.  In A Cold Touch of Ice the title primarily refers to  the ice that is so hard to keep on hand in  an early twentieth century Cairo summer. It also alludes to the shaft of cold that can spread through a community hardening better feelings. The problems are often generational. The older people in a community are more likely to keep a friend they have known since their youth while the younger hotheads simply look for targets to vent their anger on.

This story covers the time during when the famous Lord Kitchener becomes the British consul in Cairo, and when T. E. Lawrence, the archaeologist is settling into the early part of his fame. The sights and scenes of Cairo, the heightened tensions of war times, gun running, spying, secret brotherhoods, all combine to make this an interesting exciting story.


I always take home a great deal more than a mysteries resolution when I read Michael Pearce. It is a trip to a different time and place that is enlightening.

The Seven Dials Mystery

              by Agatha Christie    


















































































































This is one of a short trilogy the first and second of which taking place of a famous country estate called Chimneys. They feature Superintendent Battle and a coterie of 'bright young things' ei. young English men and women in their twenties from the wealthier classes who work desultorily at their jobs in the city or at the Foreign office and who call all the friends by nicknames they picked up in their  youth like Socks or Pongo. These are usually headed by Bundle Brett who is the daughter of the earl who owns Chimneys.

The story takes place in the twenties and and the main action begins at a weekend house party during which someone is inevitable killed so that there is as always a large cast of suspects. Naturally the amateur detectives are sure they can out do the police.

The action is swift and the plot is not too deep, just cryptic as in should be in the era of spies, secret clubs as well as secret criminal organizations. This not the best of Christie but it is fun. In this case I did not feel that it could be a fair play mystery because the reader was really lead astray in some cases. Still, the characters are all likable and Christie pokes fun at this class of people, both the nouveau riche and the landed aristocracy.

Art series

 In A Deceptive Clarity by Aaron Elkins Dr. Chris Norgren a Renaissance art expert who is a curator for the San Francisco County Museum of Art is introduced. He is headed to Berlin  to help with an exhibition of art tracked down since WWII by the military including finds in caves and other art 'liberated' by the Nazis.
.

Durer - Self portrait

The exhibition, 'The Plundered Past' includes twenty priceless works of art thought to have been lost forever. They have been returned to their previous owner Mr. Bolzano who has agreed  to allow them to be exhibited. Peter van Cortlandt one of Chris's bosses meets him in Berlin and suggests that there is possibly a forgery among the recovered works and before this can be confirmed is found dead in unusual circumstances.

 At about the same time Chris himself is attacked while interrupting a theft attempt of the paintings.

El Greco-Purification at the Temple

The painting in question is El Greco's Purification at the Temple

Norgren goes to to Florence to
meet with the Bolzanos who are providing the works of art for the exhibit.  He wants to  look over the paintings before they are shipped.

In this first book a question arises that comes up in the next two books.  What is art, more specifically if two paintings are displayed together, looking essentially identical, one being  "genuine', the real thing, and the other a forgery are they or are they not both art?  The answer is simple to Chris Norgren- the forgery is definitely not art. To Mr Bolzano both fit the requirement of beautiful artistic objects, one is just more valuable .

Ruben's Portrait

In The Glancing Light Norgren is now working a a Seattle Art Gallery in the same capacity as a curator of Renaissance and Baroque art. A very valuable Ruben's portrait is found mixed in with a shipment of "authentic reproductions. ' After Chris examines the painting and finds that it is the real thing, he is given a job following up the transaction to see how such a thing could have happened.

Bologna's Piazza Maggiore

This quest takes him to the beautiful city of Bologna, which happens to be a place he has visited before and looks forward to seeing it again.

The theme is interesting and once again the argument comes up about what is art.

Piazza Nattuno

For my part I would be happy to see any of these paintings, in the origin; or as a forgery.

Living in a small town far away from city museums the best I can do is study art books. I am sure I am not alone in this. I am glad there are experts to help solve these problems but they are outside my realm. Of course the way I get to see a bit deeper into the art world is by series such as these which bring me tremendous pleasure.  With Google images by my side at all times via my Ipad I get vicarious trips to exotic locations and beautiful museums.

You would think that paintings done by famous artists a couple of centuries ago would have all come to light by now.  Not so! people are still hoping that some old attics will yield a treasure.

Rembrandt portrait

 In Old Scores Chris Norgren is invited to France to authenticate a newly found Rembrandt. He is to go to Dijon where René Vachey is to exhibit the work of art along with a few other finds.  After the masterpiece is evaluated Chris will be given the portrait to take back to the Seattle Museum of Art.  There is only one catch - there is to be no scientific testing permitted.

Dijon

Naturally Chris smells a rat and one reason for that is René has been a rat in the past. Vachey is actually notorious for art scams in the past. In this case however the rat falls into his own trap and Vachey is murdered shortly after Chris gets the first view of the work of art. Chris himself is almost killed as he tries to untangle this mystery. This is another exciting adventure in the art world as well as in the streets of another beautiful city.


I really wish there were more books in this entrancing series.

Seventy-seven Clocks

by Christopher Fowler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an interesting story which chronicles the first case of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. It takes place in 1973.  Arthur Bryant and John May had been partners some time ago and they are now reunited as the PCU is given it's first quarters away from the Metropolitan Police as well as a small group of assistants who will comprise the unit. Before the paint dries on the walls they are knee deep in peculiar murders and the press as well as the Met are clamoring for answers. The Met seems to hope the unit will fail and the press is beginning to think them a foolish gesture.

The game is afoot when an apparent maniac dressed in Victorian clothes goes into a museum and defaces a painting of that era. Before he can be captured he blows up in a subway in an unusual manner. This is preceded by the bizarre murder of the family lawyer by a exotic snake bite. More deaths follow and Bryant and May are always one step behind. They are aided though by an intrepid young girl Jerry, who is intent on helping because she discovered two of the victims.

Bryant is an unusual mixture of  an old dog who can't learn new tricks and a almost genius recollection of the past. May, slightly younger is the more classic detective. It could be said that May looks to the future and Bryant doesn't want to lose the past and his mind seems to stay there.

The mystery is complex involving Victorian megalomaniacs as well and a gang of assassins some of who are reluctant. The plotting is intricate and intriguing, the pace is moderate and the story very enjoyable.

Landscape of Lies

 Peter Watson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is basically a story about a painting that is really a map to a treasure trove of medieval artifacts of great value. It was fun to read except for the plethora of esoteric facts which sometimes buried the plot,and the very annoying expression that was used on almost every page which included the word bloody inserted into a variety of exclamations. Fanbloodytastic, Isobloodybel and others  became tedious quickly. The cigar smoking subplot was also not a welcome addition.

 The best part of the story was the fact that the painting was included in the book so that the clues could be followed by the reader. There was also some gems of information about  the symbolism of certain objects in paintings which added depth to the book. The most important thing was that the plot and the characters as well as the treasure hunt seemed credible even after all the centuries had passed,

I  learned  quite a bit and refreshed my memory about a lot more so over all it was a positive experience.

The Savage Garden

 by Mark Mills
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Adam Strickland is a Cambridge scholar who has taken a slightly lazy approach to his studies. His professor suggests a trip to Italy to study a famous garden. The professor believes that this will pique Adam's interest.

Naturally, there is a secret in this garden, a cipher, and Adam also believes there is a secret to be discovered in the villa itself. His natural instinct or maybe nosiness in disguise soon leads him to some startling conclusions about both the recent and the centuries ago past.

I don't know if it could be called brashness or arrogance when he begins to delve into the personal lives of the occupants of the Villa Docci. He is definitely has no problems with blurting out his suspicions. As one person told him 'You have been here hardly a week! What business is it of yours?'


He certainly takes liberties as he toys with the rules of the house and the emotions of it's inhabitants.

Aside from that as he digs into the meaning of the statuary in the garden he has to use all his classical knowledge to piece together this enigma. The reader is educated as well as they are reminded of ancient myths and allegories. I am also tempted to read the book Adam was reading which was Dorothy Sayers' translation of Dante's epic poem The Inferno.